Industry Professionals Honor Breakout Talent In Avid Contest

Tewksbury, Mass, 2008-01-28TEWKSBURY, Mass, January 28, 2008 – Avid Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq: AVID) has announced the winners of its back-to-school video competition, a contest designed to connect aspiring talent to some of today's most popular filmmakers, editors and news professionals. Judged by pros on the creative and technical edits of the submission, this year's grand prize winning entries are: Aaron Hudson's Editing + VFX and Carol Benwell's 2007 Editing Reel. In addition to gaining widespread exposure to more than 10,000 industry professionals within the Avid community by having their videos displayed on Avid.com, the grand prize winners will receive a $3000 USD online credit to build their own home studio package (comprised of Avid's family of products), as well as the Avid Billy Award, an industry accolade named after Avid founder Bill Warner, which recognizes skill and creativity in editing. The contest ran from August 20 – November 1, 2007.

This is a great opportunity to introduce my work to some of the top names in the industry. There's just no way I could get this type of exposure on my own, said winner Benwell. I love creating media content that uses music as a central element, so I carried that theme over in my reel. My entry is a compilation of several design projects, promos, music videos, short films and commercial pieces that I've done on Avid [products]. Avid's editing tools are easy to use for simple things, but also allow you to make more complex edits while concentrating on being creative.

About the Winners:

2007 Editing Reel is a compilation of previous film and design projects that reflect Benwell's interest in motion graphics, video and multimedia work. She created her winning entry on Avid Xpress® Pro and Avid Xpress Studio.

Editing + VFX is a demo of recent work that Hudson created using Media Composer® software and Avid Xpress Pro. Hudson enrolled in his first Avid editing class following his high school graduation at age 16, and has since served as both editor and videographer on a countless number of short films and projects with friends.

Scott Boyd, contest judge and editor of the hit TV series Heroes, said, Both of the grand prize winners demonstrated tremendous creativity and editorial chops. Though the two reels are very different, both editors clearly love what they do and it's that passion that will create opportunities like this one throughout their careers. When I first watched Aaron Hudson's Editing + VFX, I liked his creative use of animation within ‘live motion' – and that he went beyond straight-cut edits. Carol Benwell's 2007 Editing Reel had a certain rhythm with recurring frustrated editor scenes and the use of static to transition from project to project. Benwell's music selection pleasantly exaggerated what was being portrayed visually to the viewer.

In addition to recognizing the grand prize winners, four entries were selected as runners-up and will receive M-Audio IE-30 headphones valued at $299.95 USD. To view the winning entries, for a complete list of this year's honorees and more information about the contest, please visit: www.avid.com/backtoschool.

About Avid Technology, Inc.

Avid is a worldwide leader in tools for film, video, audio, 3D animation, gaming and broadcast professionals – as well as for home audio and video enthusiasts. Avid professional and consumer brands include Avid, Digidesign, M-Audio, Pinnacle Systems, Sibelius, Softimage and Sundance Digital. The vast majority of primetime television shows, feature films, commercials and chart-topping music hits are made using one or more Avid products. Whether used by seasoned professionals or beginning students, Avid's products and services enable customers to work more efficiently, productively and creatively. Avid received an Oscar® statuette representing the 1998 Scientific and Technical Award for the concept, design, and engineering of the Avid® Film Composer® system for motion picture editing. For more information about the company's Oscar, Grammy® and Emmy® award-winning products and services, visit http://www.avid.com/.